Monday 29 March 2021

Welfare Inspections Decline

 


Greyhound Racing Ireland give more PR on welfare

but yet again such industry PR conflicts

with their own figures.


On 26th March 2021, GRI gave out a statement on a conviction under the Welfare of Greyhounds Act 2011 and, again, claimed that there is a 'priority of maintaining animal welfare at the centre of the industry'.

The statement went on to tell the public that 455 welfare inspections were conducted in 2020 and how the inspection program had been impacted, for 2020, due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The actual GRI report on welfare inspections for 2020 has still not been updated to show the figure of 455 inspections, and as of March 29th 2021 the 2020 report shows the figure of 84 welfare inspections - yet again showing a slackness in transparency from the industry.

The 2020 report of 455 welfare inspections was not just a massive decline from the 615 welfare inspections in 2019 but a decline in general and lowest figure since 2015. Such declines of figures have been seen before, as with the decline in testing for doping. Such figures that continue to question how welfare can be 'at the centre of the industry'.

GRI claim that for 2020 welfare inspections were impacted by Covid-19 restrictions.

On the 12th March 2020, GRI published it's rules/restrictions in regard to Covid-19. The very next day, 13th March 2020,  those rules were ignored by GRI CEO Gerard Dollard as well as Liam Dowling.

The rules/restrictions didn't have an impact on continued breeding of greyhounds - indeed this practice was deemed an essential service.

The rules/restrictions didn't have an impact on the continued sales of greyhounds - such as the sale of TD Jackie Cahill's greyhound Minnies Petrov. TD Jackie Cahill, Chair of the Committee on Agriculture, Food and The Marine(who question GRI on such issues as greyhound welfare), owned Minnies Petrov at the time of behind-closed-doors racing, and then sold her despite Covid-19 restrictions.


That the continued sales, breeding and racing of greyhounds

 was deemed essential during Covid-19

 but welfare inspections of greyhounds was impacted by Covid-19 restrictions 

should be of great public concern.